Algeria and Tunis in 1845 ... An account of a journey through the two Regencies ... An Account of a journey made through the two Regencies by Viscount Feilding and Capt. Kennedy

Front matter

WAE, . F M(JK MA0WIKIRA MJIIBJB. "OJ srans aipilab. ■ ALGERIA AND TUNIS IN 1845. w, CAPTAIN J. CLARK KENNEDY, 18TH (ROYAL IRISH) BEftlMFNT AN ACCOUNT OF A JOURNEY MADE THROUGH THE TWO REGENCIES BY VISCOUNT i'ElLDING AND CAPT. KENNEDY. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON: HENRY COLBURN, PUBLISHER, GREAT MARYBOROUGH .STREET. 1846. PRINTED BY W. WILCOCKSON, ROLLS BUILDINGS, FETTER LANE. TO THE VISCOUNT FEILDING, THE FOLLOWING PAGES, A SLIGHT MEMORIAL OF THE SCENES WE VISITED TOGETHER, ARE DEDICATED BY HIS SINCERE AND ATTACHED FRIEND, J. CLARK KENNEDY. London, March, _. 1846.

Preface

. Having passed some months of the winter in Paris, I had heard much on the subject of Algeria, and, being desirous of judging for myself, I made arrangements for spending a portion of the period of my leave of absence in Northern Africa. By the advice of officers who had served in Algeria, I delayed my journey until the beginning of March, and, passing the interval at Nice, I was there joined by Lord Feilding, and we made the excursion together. In the following narrative of om* travels I have entered neither into political discussions, nor into crude theories on what may be the future condition of the southern coast of the VI

PREFACE.

. Mediterranean ; I have merely endeavoured to describe what I saw, and to record a portion of the information collected in the course of our journey. Some of the details may possibly be deemed trivial ■ but it is often in the petty occurrences of every-day life that the character of a people may be studied to greater advantage than in the more serious events where the fiercer pas sions play their part, and which, when roused, give the same colouring to the actions of the civilized European, the wild Arab of the desert, or the still ruder savage. If I have succeeded in transferring to the reader any portion of the interest that we experienced in traversing a country at present so little known, and which once played no inconsiderable part in the history of the world ■my object will have been attained. CONTENTS OF VOL. I.

Chapter I

Arrival at Marseilles— Preparations for a voyage— Phenicien steamer — Algiers from the sea — Bombarded by the English in 1816 — Landing— Place de Gouvernement — Gay scene— Explosion of a magazine— Contradictory rumours —Many lives lost — Fate of Madame * * * — Probable cause of the explosion — Streets — Speculation — Walk through the upper town — The Kasbah — The interior — " Coup de chasse-mouche" — Harem and treasury . 1

Chapter II

Residence of the British Consul-General— Terrace roofs- Peeping — Marks of Lord Exmouth's visit— Plans — Arab market — New suburb— Battle of Isly — A Parisian traveller and his adventures— Mustapha Pacha— Chasseurs d'Afrique — Experimental gardens — Produce — Cochineal — Moorish cafe— Ride in the country . . * . .22 CONTENTS.

Chapter III

Departure for Bleedah— Beautiful views— Fort l'Empereur— Expedition of Charles V.-Its failure— Curious history of some artillery— Landing of the French troops in 1830 — Battle of Stawelli— Siege of Fort l'Empereur— Deb Ibrahim — Agricultural improvements— Colonists— Scarcity of wood —Saint Ferdinand— Donera— Bouffarick— The Zouaves — Bleedah— A fortunate bankrupt— Orange groves . 37

Chapter IV

Leave Bleedah — Our party, horses, and accoutrements — A canteen— Cross the Cheeffa— Military road and encampment — Engineering difficulties — Magnificent scenery of the Pass — The ascent— Strata— Extensive view — Arrive at Medeah — Description of Medeah — Aqueduct — Hotels — General Marey — Pet Lion — Morning walk — Soldier's gardens — Arab horses — Menagerie . . .57

Chapter V

Set out with Captain Martenot for the Little Desert— Formidable party— Steep ascent— Received by Bel Arbi— Beautiful situation of the tent— Shooting party — An Arab tent and furniture— Preparations for supper— Our bivouac — The Raid's answer — Couscousoo — Supper — Arrangements for passing the night — Day-break — Boar-hunt — Providential escape — Proceed to the dashera of the Haoueras — Arab huts — Breakfast " Beghir" — Fertile valley — Mid-day halt — Spahis — Arab douar — Arrive at Boghar . . . . . .77 CONTENTS. IX

Chapter VI

Boghar— Its commanding situation — Roman remains— Capture in 1841— Present state — Grotto — Reflections on the past — Market day— Family party — Importance of Boghar to the French — Trade with the interior— The Nomadic tribes — Their yearly wanderings and traffic — Probable diversion of trade from its ancient channels — Cross the Cheleeff -Arabic legend — The Little Desert — Horsemanship — Thunder-storm — Arrive at the douar of the Oulad- Mocktar— Sketching — Grand entertainment — Ben-Aouda ; his personal appearance and history . . .102

Chapter VII

Morning scene in the douar — Visit to the Dahias — Flamingoes — Marriage rejoicings — Woman's dress — Dancing — Fantazia — Accident — Arab marriages and divorces— Condition of an Arab woman — Complaint and decision against a Kaid— French and English— Take leave of Ben-Aouda — Arab hospitality — Cultivation of the soil — Silos — Their destruction by the French troops— Arab burying-ground — Return to Boghar . . . . .128

Chapter VIII

Afternoon walk — A soldier's grave — Arab patients— Lepers — Leave Boghar— Government lands " Les ravines de la peine" — Ancient cities — Sour Djouab and Sour Ghouzelan — Search for the douar — The Abides — Idiot boy — Scorpion-eating — Sect of the Aisaoua — Description of a commemorative fete of that sect held in Algiers CONTENTS.

Chapter IX

The tribe of the Abides— Their connexion with the Government — Snow-storm — Ben Chekao — Travelling in the Atlas — Return to Medeah— General Marey— The Lion and the plaid— A Moorish bath — Leave Medeah — Exorbitant bill — Copper mines — Their produce — Ancient workings — Crosses — The canteen — Walk over the Col de Mouzaia — The Cheeffa — Bleedah and return to Algiers . . 173

Chapter X

A general view of the country between the 34th and 37th degrees of latitude— The climates — Trees — Truffles- Animals of the Desert — Winds from the sea — Season for military operations— Accumulations of sand: their effects on the rivers and springs — Divisions of the country south of the Atlas — Heights above the level of the sea— Salt lakes— The Sahara and its inhabitants— Aristocracy of the Desert — Arab tribes — The relations of the Sahara and the Tell — Distribution of domesticated animals— The Mehary — Its use in military operations— Population— The Arab of the Tell, and the Arab of the Sahara . . .190

Chapter XI

General Marey 's expedition to Laghouat— Arrives at the Oued-el-Heumar— The advance of the French foretold by a Marabout 130 years ago— Extracts from the prophecies Return of the expedition CONTENTS. XI

Chapter XII

The shops and shopkeepers of Algiers — Dress of the Jewish women — Their beauty — Moral condition of the Jews in Northern Africa — Moorish woman — Ride over the Boudjareeah— Gardens of the Dey — Hospital — Country house of the British Consul-General— Marshal Bugeaud's arrival — Unexpected dispatch of the Mail steamer — The Packet service of Algeria — Bougia — Djidjeli — Defeat of the Kabiles — Philippeville — Arrival at Bona . . 246

Chapter XIII

Kabilia and the Kabiles — Origin and history of the latter — Their Personal appearance — Government — Language — Religion — Marabouts — H abitations — Agriculture — Manufactures — Enterprise and industry — Attachment to their native land — Their arms and method of warfare — Domestic relations — General character .... 267

Chapter XIV

Bona — Destroyed in 1 832 — Defence of the Kasbah by Yousouf and Captain d'Armandy — Square and streets — Kasbah — The Foreign Legion — Fort Cigogne — Maltese — Party at General Randon's — Ride to the ruins of Hippo Regius- Its ancient history — St. Augustin — His monument- Ancient harbour in the Seybouse — Why it should be reopened — Government stud — Forest of the Djebel Edough — Storm and Shipwreck — Quarantine absurdities — Arrival at Tunis. . . . . . .283 ILLUSTRATIONS. VOL. I. Valley of the Haouera Tribe, in the Atlas . Frontispiece. VOL. II. Departure from El Jemm Frontispiece. IN 1845.

Chapter I

Arrival at Marseilles — Preparations for a voyage— Phe'nicien steamer — Algiers from the sea — Bombarded by the English in 1816 — Landing — Place de Gouvernement — Gay scene — Explosion of a magazine — Contradictory rumours — Many lives lost — Fate of Madame * * * — Probable cause of the explosion — Streets — Speculation — Walk through the upper town — The Kasbah — The interior — " Coup de chasse-mouche" — Harem and treasury. Leaving Nice early on the morning of the 3rd of March, we arrived at Marseilles the afternoon of the next day ; and having secured our berths in the African steamer which was to sail for Algiers on the 5ih, at five p. m., we were fully employed until that VOL. I. B time in making the final arrangements for the journey we had in contemplation. Our bao-o-aoe was reduced to the smallest possible compass, everything not absolutely necessary being left in Marseilles; our pass ports were vises, the final effort undergone to remember if any thing had been left behind or forgotten, and every article, from " Gay Lussac's" mountain barometer to the portable cooking apparatus, having succes sively passed in mental review, we embarked at the hour appointed on board the " Phe nicien."

After waiting some time for the mail, delayed by bad weather in the interior, we put to sea at seven o'clock, with a brisk breeze blowing in our teeth, a heavv sea on, and the prospect before us of a rough and tedious passage. Like most of the French steamers, the engines of the " Phenicien " had not sufficient power to enable her to make much way against a head wind ; but being a good sea-boat, this did not signify so much, as it was easily remedied by patience, a virtue which, however, was not possessed bv an elderly Frenchman in the next cabin, who, between the paroxysms of sea-sickness, occupied his time in pitying* himself, swearing as only a Parisian can swear, and asking the steward when we should arrive. Passing to the eastward of Minorca, we made the African coast on the 8th, at mid day, and after a passage of nearly three days, fifty hours being the usual time in moderate weather, we entered the harbour of Algiers at half past four in the afternoon.

Few cities have a more striking appearance than Algiers, when approached from the sea. Situated on the western side of the bay, the city is built on the steep slope of a hill, in the form of a triangle, the base of which rests on the Mediterranean ; and when seen at such a distance that the eye cannot master the details, appears an im mense cone of the whitest marble rising from the sea, and contrasting beautifully with the dark masses of the surrounding country. The mole, stretching from the shore in the shape of a T, surmounted by a lighthouse, and bristling with cannon, forms with its southern arm a secure harbour, still further defended by the triple tiers of the batteries b2 on the mainland, and is justly an object of pride to Englishmen, as the scene of an action rarely equalled in the annals of naval warfare for boldness and daring, and where the result of Lord Exmouth's expedition, — not glorious to the British fleet only, but to the cause of humanity in general, — so fully realised the object.

Here, under these batteries, Christian slavery, which to the disgrace of Christian Europe had existed in the states of Barbary for nearly eleven cen turies, received its death-blow in August 1816. From the shore the buildings rise terrace above terrace to the summit of the city, where the Rasbah, the ancient palace and citadel of the deys, forms the apex of the triangle. The monotony of the Moorish houses, flat roofed and glaring with white wash, is somewhat broken by the new French buildings in the loner part of the town, by the domes and towers of the mosques, and by the graceful forms of the cy press and palm, a few of which having escaped destruction, still stand in the courts of the larger mansions — silent witnesses of the events that have changed the dull repose of the harem garden, into the lively bustle of a French barrack-yard.

Outside the walls, Fort de PEmpereur, situated on a higher point of the ridge, and commanding the Rasbah, rises to the south ; the hills, gently sloping to the sea, are studded with country houses and gardens ; and in the extreme distance are seen the lofty range of the lesser Atlas, whose highest summits, still capped with snow, form an appropriate back-ground to the scene. At the landing-place there was the usual amount of noise and confusion ; half naked Arab boys and dirty Jews wrangling for our baggage, and only for an instant inter rupting their mutual torrent of Arabic abuse, to recommend themselves in broken French to our notice. Every thing must have an end, and in this case the point was at last settled bv the strongest marching off to the custom-house, where, excepting a little de mur about our guns, we had no trouble ; and from thence, entering the city by the Marine Gate and traversing a broad and handsome street of the same name, we reached the Hotel de la Regence, not sorry to find ourselves again on shore, with the comfortable prospect of an immovable dinner table, stationary decanters, and dishes that kept their own places.

At dinner we had the good fortune to make the acquaintance of the Count de Goltz, a Prussian officer of cuirassiers, who had arrived in Algeria the preceding day, and our objects of travel being nearly simi lar, acquaintance soon ripened into intimacy, and our accidental meeting was the fore runner of many agreeable days, passed in each others society, in a land equally new and interesting to the one as to the other. The evening was fine, although cold, and after dinner we joined the crowd of idlers in the " Place de Gouvernement," an open space in the centre of the city, planted with orange trees, the formation of which was one of the first works undertaken by the French after the occupation. Three sides are nearly enclosed with handsome well built houses in the French style, and the fourth facing the sea, juts out in an obtuse angle, of which a portion of the northern face is occupied by a mosque of no architec tural beauty, and the other, overlooking a battery of heavy guns, affords a splendid view of the port, the shipping, and the Bay of Algiers.

In the Place are the principal hotels, the fashionable cafes, and the best shops. As the night closed in, the cafes blazed with light, and the square was thronged with officers, soldiers, sailors, Jews, Moors, Arabs, the wealthy merchant and the poor colonist, the freed negro, the awkward con script of the last " tirage," and the hand some dragoon in the soldierlike uniform of the " Chasseurs d'Afrique " mingled toge ther in a scene of picturesque confusion, each following his own method, in search of pleasure after the toils of the past day. This scene of gaiety was, however, soon to change ; at ten o'clock we left the Caf£ de la Perle, and lingering near the entrance with the sound of the music still ringing in our ears, were startled by a bright flash in the direction of the harbour, a sheet of flame rose into the air, instantaneously fol lowed by a loud explosion, and then several smaller ones in rapid succession ; the ground shook as with an earthquake, and broken glass from the windows facing the sea fell in showers around us.

For a few seconds a dead silence reigned ; the crowd seemed pa ralyzed, — not a word was spoken, — each looked round upon his neighbours as if seekinginformation from those as ignorant as himself. Then with one impulse, as if the spell that had held the crowd motionless had been suddenly broken, a rush was made towards the harbour. Every body spoke at once ; a hundred wonderful and contradictory rumours passed from mouth to mouth with extraordinary rapidity, — " Abd-el-Rader and the Arabs are attacking the city," cried one. " It is an earthquake." " No, no, it is the English, it is ' la perfide Albion,' " exclaimed another, " who, according to her usual custom, has, without declaring war, seized upon the har bour and the fleet." " Nonsense," answered another, " I tell you the great magazine on the Mole has exploded, and the lighthouse, the arsenal, the admiralty, the admiral and all his staff are blown up."

This last report, although greatly exao-.gerated, unfortunately proved to be but too true ; upwards of a hundred fellow beings had in a few seconds been hurried unwarned into the presence of their God. Lord Feilding having been separated in the con fusion from Count de Goltz and myself was one of the first who reached the scene, and met the survivors of this sad event ; officers, soldiers and sailors, mixed with ladies, some dressed for an evening party, and others risen from their beds, with infants in their arms, as thev had rushed from the neighbouring houses in the first impulse of terror : the moans of the wounded, alas ! but few in number, were mingled with the screams of the frightened children ; wives were seeking their husbands, parents their children, and friends each other ; no one knew who had perished, or who had escaped, and in some cases this dreadful uncertainty lasted until ¥ morning; members of the same family having in the darkness and confusion taken refuge in different houses.

Next morning on visiting the scene, we found that a large building, situated between the admiralty and the light house, was a B heap of ruins ; blocks of stone, huge beams, and masses of masonry confusedly thrown together, the portions of the walls that were still standing, cracked in various places ; the houses occupied by the flag captain and the captain of the port much damaged, the sides nearest the explosion blown down ; the lantern of the " phare " broken, and the ad miralty slightly damaged. During this and many succeeding days the troops were busily employed searching for the bodies, many of which were not discovered for some time ; one poor wretch was found alive amid the ruins on the fourth day, and in one long room, used as an artillery barrack, and containing rows of beds on either side, nearly fifty bodies were found lying in death, as they had laid them down to sleep, and in the centre the crushed and disfigured remains of a party engaged at play, the stakes before them and the cards still firmly grasped in their stiffened hands.

The fate of Madame * * *, the wife of the port captain, was most melancholy. Whilst in the midst of her friends, who to the number of thirtv, were that eveningcollected at her house, she heard her child crying in the adjoining room, she hastened to soothe it, and on crossing the passage, from one door to the other, the explosion took place : she was killed instantaneously ; her child in one room, and her husband and friends in the other escaping unhurt. The daughter of Madame P * * *, a little girl between four and five years of age, was asleep in a room, part of the roof of which was blown down, she was taken out of bed and carried from the port to the Grand Place still asleep, neither the noise ofthe explosion, the falling ruins, nor the removal, having awoke her. The total loss by this melancholy accident, proved to be one hundred and one killed, and thirteen wounded ; the cause of the explosion will probably for ever remain unknown ; part of the building was used as a manufactory of cartridges, and it is supposed that loose powder must have been collected in the cracks of the floor, and being ignited by a spark from a pipe, have communicated with the magazine.

This, however, is mere con jecture, for, in this case, as in most others of the same description, those to blame are generally the first to suffer. The escape of the greater part of Algiers from destruction was most providential, for if another maga zine, which was in the immediate neighbour hood, containing several tons of gunpowder, had taken fire, three-fourths of the city must have been levelled with the ground, and the loss of life would have been enormous. A traveller leaving, for the first time, the shores of Europe, and expecting to see, on landing at Algiers, an eastern city, would be much disappointed at finding himself in wide handsome streets, built on the model of those in a large provincial French town, with arcades, and shops filled with the latest Parisian fashions. It is only when he looks around upon the passing crowd, and marks the turban and the bernous, that he is re minded, he is sojourning in another quarter of the globe.

This, however, only refers to the lower portion of the town, which has in great part been entirely rebuilt since the occupation ; the three principal streets are the Rues "de la Marine," which leads from the harbour to the Place de Gouvernement, and those of Bab-Azoun and Bab-el-Oued, branching* from thence at right angles, and connecting the two gates (after which they are named) at the north and south angles of the city ; branching* off from these, are a multitude of dark, dirty passages, so narrow as scarcely to allow the passing of a couple of laden donkeys, and redolent with all im aginable filthy smells ; these are the remain ing Moorish streets in the lower part of the town, and are now fast disappearing under the improving hands of speculators, one of the last epidemics that has afflicted Algeria having been a violent rage for building ; the disease has, however, latterly taken a new turn, a strong desire to make large fortunes by farming having been added to the former symptoms ; this complication of maladies will, it is to be feared, ere long lead to fatal results, particularly to those whose constitu tions have been weakened by attacks of a similar nature in their native country.

In the afternoon we visited the upper town and the Rasbah. Starting from the Place we commenced the ascent, passing a large mosque, now converting into a Christian Church ; the building in itself is handsome, and the requisite alterations and improve ments are being executed in the Moorish style, with good taste. Near this, a little higher up, is the residence of the governor general, with nothing remarkable in its exterior ; but the apartments, which are not permitted to be seen by strangers, are said to be magnificently fitted up. From thence we ascended to the Rasbah, through a labyrinth of wretched streets, in habited by tbe very dregs of the population, built without the slightest attempt at regu larity, winding their devious course in almost inextricable confusion, the difficulty of thread ing them, being increased by the numerous blind alleys, and the striking likeness each house bears to its next door neighbour.

Fortunately every street has its French name painted in large letters at the corner, the alleys marked "impasse," and each house numbered. The streets are, in many places, more contracted than in the lower town, and the upper stories of the houses generally pro jecting* some feet over the lower, added to the numerous arches under which the roadway passes, formed by houses built over and on both sides of the street, render them dark and gloomy ; and, in the hot weather, the stench produced by the decaying filth, so plentifully scattered about, must, in such con fined situations, produce dreadful diseases, were it not for the healthy situation of the city, placed so favourably to catch every breath of air from the cooling surface of the sea. Reaching at last the highest angle of the city, we entered the Easbah (a word which, in Arabic, signifies a fortress, or citadel) from a small irregularly-shaped piece of ground, called by the French, Place des Vic toires.

Passing under an archway, the re cesses in the sides of which were used by the Dey's troops as guard-rooms, we hastened at once to the ramparts. From hence we had a magnificent view ; below us was the city, having the appearance of a gigantic flight of steps, based on the sea, and gra dually diminishing in width till they reached the point on which we were standing ; the harbour crowded with shipping, the graceful latteen sails of the Mediterranean contrasting picturesquely with the clumsy funnels of the steamers ; the sea stretching as far as the eye can reach to the northward and eastward ; the fertile plain of the Meteed jah, extending from the foot of the heights behind Algiers to Cape Matifou, the ex treme point of land to the east forming the Bay of Algiers. The large white building, about the centre of the bay, and situated a ¥ * mile inland, is the Maison Carree, for mam years one of the most important posts in Algeria, but now rendered comparatively unimportant by the complete pacification of the Meteedjah.

The weather, which had been threatening for some time, did not permit us to dwell long on this splendid prospect, and descend ing from the walls, we proceeded to inspect the interior of the fortress. Within the walls were contained the palace and harem of the Dey, barracks for his household troops, upon whose fidelity his safety from the frequently-insurgent soldiery of the regency depended, the treasury, and principal magazine. The whole is now occupied as a barrack, and we were permitted to visit any part we wished. We entered a handsome court to the right of the w*ay leading from the outer gate, paved with marble, the second story, sur mounted with spacious galleries, open to the inside, and connecting the various apartments on that floor, which were the private residence of the Dey. Although they, of course, have suffered greatly from their transformation into a barrack, they could never have been remarkable, either for beauty of decoration, or for size, in both of which qualities, many houses, the property of private individuals in the city, far surpass them.

These are now occupied as officers' quarters, and projecting from the gallery con necting them is a covered balcony of lattice work overhanging the court below. This small room is one of the principal objects of interest in the Rasbah, for within it was given the famous " coup de chasse-mouche," an event pregnant with consequences of such vital importance to the Dey and the regency. On the 27th of April, 1827, the eve of tlie feast of the Beyram, the diplomatic corps were, according to custom, presented to pay their respects to the Dey. During the inter view an angry discussion took place between the Dey and the French consul, which ended by the Dey in a passionate moment striking the consul in the face with his fan. To this blow the subsequent events that have taken place are to be referred ; it cost the Dey his throne, drove him an exile to die in a foreign land, caused the ruin of the Turkish dominion, which had endured for upwards of three hundred years, and in replacing it by an European and Christian government, must, sooner or later, work a most beneficial change in the condition of the northern coast of Africa, however dim and distant such a prospect may appear at present.

This room is now used as a poultry yard ; and, singularly enough, as we entered, a cock strutting on the deserted divan pro claimed his victory over some feebler rival by a triumphant crow, an appropriate em blem of the real state of affairs. The harem, arranged in the same manner as the apartments of the Dey, formed a square, with this only difference, that instead of a court paved with marble, the interior space was laid out as a garden, of which a few melancholy looking shrubs are now all that remain. Although scarcely larger than a room, and surrounded with lofty walls, it was the only place where the inmates were permitted to breathe the fresh air of heaven, the frequent visits to the baths and to the graves of relatives allowed to other women being forbidden to them. On the left of the entrance is placed the grand magazine, a substantial building, sur mounted by a dome : near it is a fountain, remarkable for the beauty and chasteness of its design, a canopy of marble, supported by twisted columns of the same material, and ornamented with arabesque patterns and verses from the Roran, sculptured in relief.

Not far from this w*as the treasury, which, at the period of the capture of the city by the French, contained an enormous sum : what the total amount really was still remains a mystery. A thousand stories are current, even at the present day, imputing corrupt actions to many of the highest officers in the conquering army. These are but mere rumours and assertions, totally unsupported by evidence, and probably owe their origin to the fact, that no one knows what became of the large sum stated by the official govern mentaccounts to have beenshipped to France, to the amount of forty-three millions of francs. There is, however, but little doubt that it was employed by the ministry of Charles X. at the commencement of the revolution of July. The total estimated value of the contents of the treasury, of the various articles of merchandise in the Dey's warehouses, and of the munitions of war found in the city, was nearly fifty-six millions, leaving a surplus, after paying all the expenses of the expedi tion, of upwards of seven millions.